Closure
by Athena Alexandria
Summary: A year after she turned down Booth's marriage proposal, Hannah returns to DC to find that a lot has changed. B&B all the way! Spoilers for The Change in the Game.


_Funny story: I started writing this months ago, after The Daredevil in the Mould, based on Hannah's comments about her and Booth not being done, but I could never really get inspired to finish it, so imagine my surprise when I saw the finale! To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about Brennan's announcement at first (the whole thing felt too rushed and those of you who are reading my other fic know how much I love nonsexual cuddling scenes), but after hearing what Stephen Nathan had to say the idea is slowly growing on me. I would love to attempt a proper post-finale fic along those lines but since I'm already writing one B&B baby fic (plus the whole two jobs + uni thing) it's going to be hard to come up with any original ideas.  
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><p>CLOSURE<p>

"Hello, Temperance."

The anthropologist started at the sound of her old friend's voice. "Hannah," she greeted her with obvious surprise, tearing her eyes from her computer screen. "I wasn't expecting to see you again. I thought you went back to Iraq." She eased herself slowly up from her chair, revealing her condition, which until then, had been masked by her desk.

She wasn't the only one in shock. From the size of her well-rounded belly, Hannah guessed that she was due to give birth any time now. "Wow. You're pregnant. Who's the father?" she asked jokingly, even though deep down, she already knew the answer.

"What are you doing here, Hannah?" Brennan pressed, ignoring her question, one hand coming up to rest protectively over her child. "Surely you didn't come all the way back from the Middle East to ask me about my pregnancy." Her tone was brusque, business-like – classic Temperance – but the guilt in her expression was unmistakeable.

Now that she was here, Hannah was beginning to wonder that herself. Reluctant to show her hand just yet, she shifted her attention to the framed pictures on the other woman's desk, her investigator's eye searching for a clue that would confirm her suspicions. Then maybe she would know what to tell her.

It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. It was a sight that she never thought she would see: Dr. Temperance Brennan – world-renowned forensic anthropologist and bestselling author – in a simple ivory dress that did little to hide her burgeoning pregnancy, gazing up into her new husband's face while he smiled back at her adoringly.

She glanced back up at Brennan, noting, for the first time, the thin gold band circling the ring finger on her left hand. "You and Seeley, huh? I'd be lying if I said I didn't see that coming. I always knew there was something special between you two. I mean, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about you in Iraq…" She should have known that he wasn't over her. That he would never be over her. That was why he'd given up so easily when she said she couldn't marry him. It wasn't really her that he'd wanted to spend his life with.

"If Booth was here, he would want you to know that that we didn't begin a sexual relationship until several months after you left," Brennan offered in her usual awkward but well-meaning way.

"And you're pregnant already?" Hannah teased her, trying to bring some levity back into the conversation. "When you guys move, you move fast."

"It wasn't something we planned," Brennan admitted. "It just…"

"Happened," Hannah finished for her. "But now that it has… You're happy about it, right? You look happy." There was a glow about her now that Hannah suspected wasn't all due to her pregnancy. She'd never seen her so at peace with herself and the rest of the world.

"Very happy," she agreed, rubbing her belly affectionately.

"What about Seeley? Is he happy?" She had to ask. Then she would know that she'd done the right thing all those months ago when she turned down his proposal and broke his heart.

"He cried when I told him," Brennan confessed, allowing the evidence to speak for itself. "Of course if you ask him, he'll deny it. He says he had something in his eye, which I find hard to believe." She chucked at the private memory.

"He always wanted a house full of kids," Hannah agreed. "A family. I'm glad you could give that to him."

Brennan smiled softly. "Me too."

After that, they lapsed into a silence that wasn't exactly companionable, but that wasn't entirely uncomfortable either. "Did he ever tell you why we broke up?" Hannah asked finally. She laughed when she realised how stupid this question was. "Who am I kidding? Of course he told you. You were his best friend." Though she would never have admitted it to either of them, she was always a little jealous of the close bond that they shared. She could never get him to open up to her the way he did with Brennan, even when she was the one he went home to at night.

"He said you said you weren't the marrying kind."

That was something that she'd always thought she and Brennan had in common: they were both married to their work, with little room in their lives for anything – or anyone – else. "I've gotta admit, I'm a little surprised that you are," she told her. "You always seemed so… focused. So sure of who you were and what you wanted. I admired that about you."

"I only _thought_ that that was what I wanted," Brennan corrected her with what almost sounded like pity. "Meeting Booth… it changed me. He helped me to see that I had it all wrong. I'm sorry that he couldn't do that for you."

"But if we had gotten married, you wouldn't have that precious baby of yours," Hannah felt the need to point out. Obviously, it had all happened the way that it was supposed to. Booth was always Brennan's, she just let her borrow him for a while. "Do you know what it is yet?"

Brennan looked almost smug as she told her, "Booth doesn't, but I figured it out from the ultrasound. It's a boy."

In spite of how things had ended between them – or maybe because of it – Hannah found that she was happy for him. For both of them. "A baby brother for Parker. Seeley's gonna be thrilled."

Brennan's smile widened into a grin. "He already bought him a hockey jersey. He said Parker had one too when he was a baby."

That sounded like him. "Flyers, am I right?" she couldn't resist asking.

"What else?"

She'd gotten what she came for, even if it wasn't in the way that she was hoping. "Can you do me a favour and not mention that you saw me?"

Brennan looked surprised. "You're not going over there now?" she asked, a note of apprehension creeping into her tone.

She didn't even know what she would say to him if she did. She shook her head. What was done was done. There was no sense in dredging up the past, especially now when he was finally living the life that he wanted. That he deserved. "Good luck with everything, Temperance. I'm sure you'll be a great mom."

Brennan glanced from her, back down to her belly, and smiled. "Thanks, Hannah."

With that, Hannah turned to leave, her mind already running through the departure schedule. If she hurried, she could be back on a plane by lunchtime.

"Wait," Brennan called after her when she reached the door. "You never said why you came back."

"I just wanted to make sure he was okay," she confessed. "Clearly, he is. Just… take care of him, okay?"

Brennan nodded, the radiant smile that seemed permanently glued to her face now returning. "I always do."

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><p><em>So I tried not make Hannah a two-dimensional, coniving bitch hell bent on breaking them up because that's not how she was portrayed on the show. <em>

_Oh, and for the record, I think the real B&B baby will be a girl, since Angela just had a boy and Booth already has a son. ;)  
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